Peter Watson (born 1952) is a British

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

best known for his large format landscapes of rural Britain.

Background

Born in

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...

in February 1952 Watson’s photographic career started in his teenage years when he photographed and produced his own

black & white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. H ...

prints in an improvised

darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, to make prints and to carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and ph ...

. They were sold in a local gallery and this early success encouraged him to pursue a career as a

. He studied

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

and in 1993 obtained a diploma in

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

from the

New York Institute of Photography The New York Institute of Photography (or NYIP) is a for-profit online school based out of New York City, offering different courses in photography to students all over the world. NYIP currently offers ten courses in photography. History The New ...

. Watson specialises in

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

, fine art and travel photography using large format Fujifilm with a 5x4 view camera. Before becoming a full-time professional landscape photographer Watson worked in

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

and commercial photography. He now teaches, holds workshops and lectures. He is the author of several practical photography books and his work has featured in many publications including BBC's ''Radio Times'' magazine, ''Cheshire Life'' and ''Zoom magazine'' and many practical photography magazines. His work is internationally published and collected. In 2008 Watson was chosen as a contributor to the publication ''Icons of England'', produced by The

Campaign to Protect Rural England CPRE, The Countryside Charity, formerly known by names such as the ''Council for the Preservation of Rural England'' and the ''Council for the Protection of Rural England'', is a charity in England with over 40,000 members and supporters. Forme ...

(CPRE). He also runs a photo agency and picture library specialising in images of rural Britain.

Bibliography

* * * * * * * Watson, Peter (2013). ''Views Across the Landscape'' Ammonite Press * * *

References

External links

Peter Watson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Peter 1952 births Living people Photographers from Cheshire People from Wallasey Nature photographers